- TSN’s Ryan Rishaug said Draisaitl was flying at Sunday’s practice and expects him in the Game 1 lineup.
- Draisaitl hasn’t played since a March 14 hit from Nashville’s Ozzy Wiesblatt in Edmonton’s 3-1 win.
- Read below for Kris Knoblauch’s latest, Draisaitl’s playoff résumé, and video from the Oilers’ prep for Anaheim.
Leon Draisaitl looks ready for Monday.
TSN’s Ryan Rishaug watched the Oilers star skate at Sunday’s practice and reported that Draisaitl was “flying around again today” and that he’d be surprised if the German center isn’t in the lineup for Game 1 against Anaheim.
Draisaitl hasn’t played in an NHL game since March 14. He took a hit from Predators forward Ozzy Wiesblatt into the boards in Nashville, left after the first period, and Edmonton announced two days later that he would miss the rest of the regular season with a lower-body injury.
Even with a month on the shelf, Draisaitl finished ninth in league scoring with 97 points in 65 games, piling up 35 goals and 62 assists.
His playoff résumé is sharper yet. Over 96 postseason games, Draisaitl has 141 points (52 goals, 89 assists), and each of the last three springs he hit double-digit goal totals. That production is what Edmonton has missed most down the stretch.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch stayed measured earlier in the week. “Same plan as before, just going day by day,” Knoblauch said. “I anticipate him joining us sometime in the first round, whether it’s Game 1, Game 4 or Game 5, whatever it is.”
Rishaug’s Sunday read points to the earliest of those options. In the video below, he breaks down Draisaitl’s availability for the Ducks series and the impact of dropping him back onto the second line behind Connor McDavid.
Game 1 goes Monday at 10 p.m. ET from Rogers Place. Edmonton hosts the Ducks to open the Western Conference First Round. With McDavid centering the top unit and a healthy Draisaitl back on the second line, the Oilers’ top-six becomes much tougher to pin down in one shift.
If Rishaug’s call holds, Anaheim gets its first real look at that group Monday night.
